Halo:The Fall of the Covenant
by HaloElite
Summary: The Master Chief and Cortana return to Earth after the destruction of Halo. What happens afterwards is completely unpredictable. Please Review.


Note: This is not my first time writing Halo fanfiction. Still, don't flame the crap out of me just because I missed a fact or two.  
  
Prologue-Vengeance  
  
"Halo. Its finished." Cortana's voice echoed through the Longsword Interceptor.  
"No, I think we're just getting started," the Master Chief was sure that this wasn't the end. It couldn't have been. He still had the lingering feeling that the mysterious ringworld named Halo would still come back to haunt him and the rest of humanity.  
The Master Chief had barely escaped from the massive fusion blast from the Pillar of Autumn's reactors. He had barely made it out of the hangar when the ship had detonated, tearing through an enormous chunk of Halo, shattering it into millions of fragments. It was close. Too close. He had gotten out of there, but the rest of the humans who had accompanied him to Halo had died, even Captain Keyes.  
The thought of the flood still made him reach for his weaponry. They were the most difficult enemy he had ever encountered. They had incredible strength, vast numbers, and a high level of intelligence. He had seen them fire anything that they could get their slimy tentacles on, and when they had no weapons, they hurled themselves against the enemy until the ground was piled high with their bodies and their enemies greatly weakened. Then the infection forms came. What was to follow were the most unearthly screams ever heard by anyone, whether Human or Covenant. It was all over though, and the Master Chief put those thoughts out of his minds and turned to Cortana.  
"Plot a course to Earth. We need to get back as soon as possible. After Reach, assuming its destroyed of course, the UNSC only has 50 ships left. Many of our best cruisers were there, defending Reach to the last. There is no way we can withstand another assault of that magnitude," stated the Chief.  
"Yes sir. Plotting course now. I suggest you use the cryo chamber. It's a long way back." Cortana voice echoed through the in-ship speakers. The Master Chief headed into the cramped cryo chamber and quickly froze himself, his vision fading to black.  
The voyage was relatively boring. Cortana was also in a state of "hibernation" during which she shut of her main AI cores, leaving only several critical systems running. Every few hours she would wake up to check the status of the ship and the Master Chief. She had once detected a small object in Slipspace that passed relatively close to the ship, but analysis deemed it a natural object and she logged it for some more investigation later.  
"Rise and Shine, Chief. We are about 1 hour away from entering the Earth system." The Master Chief sat up, still in his suit. Coughing beneath the helmet, he swallowed the nasty cryo inhalant, which, after all these years, still tasted like crap. Standing up out of the tube, he stretched himself out, then headed to the pilot's chair.  
"Arm all weapons, Cortana," the Master Chief ordered.  
"But that's insane! We'll be des-destroyed for entering the system with weapons engaged!" Cortana sputtered.  
"If there is a system left."  
"Alright, Alright!"  
The Master Chief watched on the view screen as Cortana ran through with the weapons check and powered them up.  
//Passcode:*******  
Acknowledged.  
Basic Weapons Check.  
Missile Tube 1-Hatch damaged. Conclusion:Unusable  
Missile Tube 2-Operational  
50mm Chain Gun-Operational  
30mm Chain Gun-Operational  
30mm Chain Gun-Operational  
Conclusion: Weapons intact  
  
Engaging Weapons  
Missile Tube 2-Powered Up Loading Missiles  
50mm Chain Gun-Powered Up  
30mm Chain Gun-Powered Up  
30mm Chain Gun-Powered Up  
//Awaiting further orders  
  
Happy with the results, the Master Chief strapped himself in the pilot's seat. The space around the Earth system twisted into a green sickly blob, then the Longsword Interceptor appeared in normal space near the edge of the system. The Master Chief stared across the Earth system, observing the remnants of the human fleet. A meager group of destroyers flew past, on patrol. There were maybe 3 cruisers pulled from the Inner Colonies as a last defense for Earth. A huge ship caught his eye, and its weaponry looked quite impressive. Two enormous MAC guns ran along its underbelly and hundreds of missile pods lined its sides. The armor plating looked extremely thick, nearly impervious to most types of damage.  
Only if there were more of them, the Chief thought.  
"Unidentified Longsword, please send authorization codes immediately or risk destruction." The COM channel crackled to life.  
"Identification codes sent. I am Cortana, the AI that was sent on the Pillar of Autumn. The Master Chief is accompanying me," Cortana announced.  
"Authorization confirmed. You are clear to dock with the Interception."  
"Which ship is that?" asked the Master Chief.  
"It is that large one over there," Cortana observed. The large ship he had seen earlier flashed twice on the viewscreen. Maneuvering the Longsword with great precision, he flew the fighter carefully into the docking bay, settling it gently onto the floor. It was not long before several marines rushed out into the docking bay, escorting a man in an Admiral's uniform. The Chief stepped out of the fighter and looked around at the innards of the ship.  
The Admiral was an older man, with gray hair growing at his temples. He was about 6 feet tall and was quite muscular, with battle scars covering his body. The Chief could read his name: Admiral David Johnson. Admiral Johnson walked up to the Master Chief, and then spoke in a quiet but imposing voice.  
"Welcome back, Master Chief. You are ordered to proceed to ONI headquarters for a full debriefing immediately. They were moved here immediately after the UNSC command on Earth ordered a retreat from Reach. I guess there really isn't any getting rid of those bastards. Anyways, if you're wondering about this ship, I'll tell you all about it afterwards," the Admiral stated.  
Giving a short nod of acknowledgement, the Master Chief started to walk out of the shuttle bay. He was interrupted by a female voice. When he turned around, he recognized her immediately. It was Doctor Halsey.  
"It was a mistake to think I was dead. On the other hand, it was a mistake to assume you were dead, too." 


End file.
